Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

Mining giant Xstrata was leading the decline on the Footsie on Monday after reports that Qatar Holding had raised its stake in the firm, adding to speculation that the investment fund is attempting to build its stake to block the proposed merger with Glencore International. The Qataris are demanding a offer sweeter than the 2.8 Glencore shares per Xstrata share. Meanwhile, sector peer ENRC was sold off after Credit Suisse downgraded its rating on the stock from 'outperform' to 'neutral', saying that earnings will weaken "substantially" over the next year. Kazakhmys, Evraz, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto and Randgold were also out of favour. Banking peers Lloyds and Barclays were in demand, though under-fire lender Standard Chartered bucked the trend following last week's $340m settlement with US authorities surrounding alleged dealings with Iran. Security giant G4S rose after The Financial Times said that the group would pull its operations out of Pakistan due to "an increasingly hostile environment for foreign security companies". Johnnie Walker whiskey maker Diageo was making gains on reports that it was closing in on a $3bn (£1.9bn) deal to acquire Jose Cuervo tequila. The firm already distributes the tequila brand globally. FTSE 100 - RisersAdmiral Group (ADM) 1,186.00p +1.11%British Land Co (BLND) 545.00p +0.93%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 34.50p +0.82%Sage Group (SGE) 303.50p +0.70%Land Securities Group (LAND) 813.00p +0.68%ARM Holdings (ARM) 586.00p +0.60%Unilever (ULVR) 2,278.00p +0.49%Hammerson (HMSO) 461.70p +0.48%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,808.00p +0.47%Diageo (DGE) 1,694.50p +0.47%FTSE 100 - FallersEurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 356.10p -3.68%Xstrata (XTA) 907.00p -3.44%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 720.00p -2.70%Evraz (EVR) 265.50p -1.85%Rexam (REX) 436.70p -1.78%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,988.00p -1.68%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,499.00p -1.64%Vedanta Resources (VED) 936.00p -1.63%IMI (IMI) 914.50p -1.56%CRH (CRH) 1,135.00p -1.39%NR